The National Assembly did not approve a report on Pandora Papers, it limited itself to exhorting Guillermo Lasso

The legislative investigation into the so-called Pandora Papers ended in an exhortation to the President of the Republic, Guillermo Lasso, to come before the plenary session of the National Assembly to explain their possible direct and indirect relationship on the ownership of goods and assets in tax havens.

During the debate on the report prepared by the Constitutional Guarantees Commission, the legislators also referred to the decision of the comptroller of the surrogate State, Carlos Riofrío, who ruled on the filing of the Guillermo Lasso process, for not finding objective elements that demonstrate that to date of registration of the candidacy for President of the Republic was the direct or indirect owner of goods or capital in tax havens.

Legislative report of Pandora Papers is measured with the opinion of the Comptroller’s Office that files the process against Guillermo Lasso

After four hours of debate, three motions were presented, but none of them provided the approval of the report presented by the Guarantees table. One proposed the dismissal of President Guillermo Lasso, the second, that a term of 30 days be set for the first president to appear at the plenary session, and the third limited itself to exhorting the Head of State to go to the legislature to give his version, and it received 82 votes.

This third motion presented by the coordinator of the Democratic Left bank, Alejandro Jaramillo, came amid questions about the procedure applied, taking into account that after calling two votes on the majority report, the vote had to be closed. session due to lack of votes, and not waiting for a third motion. That led legislator César Rohón (PSC) to appeal the presidency of the legislature, but he did not have support in the room.

In the session, the president of the commission, José Cabascango (PK), was brief in his presentation on the investigation carried out by the table and did not refer to the conclusions and recommendations of the report.

But her co-chair and member of the board, Sofía Sánchez, refuted that the report approved by six legislators had errors and that they should be corrected before the plenary session approves them, that even the annexes to said report were presented two days after approval.

The legislator Fernando Villavicencio (CN-PSE), argued that if the report of the Guarantee Commission was looking for the weight, it should have been rigorous, since he cannot come to the plenary to say that not a single document has been found and ask the plenary session of the Assembly that invites President Guillermo Lasso to deliver the documents. “Then as the hell they did an investigation, respect investigative journalism,” he rebuked.

It showed 24 documents that it said confirm that Guillermo Lasso transferred or disposed of his interests in offshore companies before September 23, 2020.

He indicated that in the report that he carried out on a parallel investigation that he did on the Pandora Papers, he asked the president to ask his children to bring capital to the country in accordance with his economic policy. But, “Guillermo Lasso cannot now be accused of any illegal act because everything is in order,” he said after showing documents.

Motions

The first motion was raised by Paola Cabezas (UNES), it proposed to apply article 130 number 2 of the Constitution and proceed to dismiss the President of the Republic due to a serious political crisis and internal commotion derived from the revelation of 600 journalists worldwide belonging to to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists on the Pandora Papers case, in which Guillermo Lasso Mendoza is involved.

The motion received 51 affirmative votes from the UNES bench and one from Pachakutik and independents. 77 legislators from the BAN, ID, PSC and a sector of Pachakutik spoke against it. There were 7 abstentions.

The second motion was presented by the legislator José Cabascango (Pachakutik), as president of the Constitutional Guarantees commission so that the President of the Republic, Guillermo Lasso, be convened within 30 days to explain his possible direct and direct link. indirect, on the ownership of goods and assets in tax havens.

This text was not approved either. 61 votes were registered in favor of UNES and a sector of Pachakutik. Meanwhile, there were 47 votes against the BAN and a part of Pachakutik and the Democratic Left, there were also 27 abstentions from the PSC and a part of Pachakutk.

Alejandro Jaramillo, coordinator of the Democratic Left bloc, affirmed that the motion raised by legislator Paola Cabezas, regarding the application of the provisions of article 130, numeral 2 of the Constitution and proceeding with the removal of the president, invites the chaos and instability.

He said that there is no social upheaval in Ecuador, however, the orange bench considers that the President of the Republic has to go to the plenary session of the Assembly to give answers to Ecuadorians in the face of doubts about capital in tax havens.

He raised the resolution that was finally approved with 82 votes, where in addition to the exhortation to the president to attend the plenary session, he has the Comptroller, the State Attorney General’s Office, the Superintendency of Banks, the Internal Revenue Service and the Financial and Economic Analysis Unit so that, applying the first paragraph of article 231 of the Constitution, they review the bank accounts, corporate and trust participations, properties, tax and patrimonial declarations of the President of the Republic, Guillermo Lasso, in relation to the publication called Pandora Papers.

In addition, the report and the file prepared by the Constitutional Guarantees Commission on the case called Pandora Papers are sent to the Comptroller’s Office, the State Attorney General’s Office, the Superintendency of Banks, the Internal Revenue Service and the Financial and Economic Analysis Unit, so that they can initiate the corresponding actions, if applicable, within the framework of their powers and forward to the president of the National Assembly, the progress of the corresponding reports within a period of 30 days, for one year.

This motion obtained 82 votes in favor of the UNES, ID benches and Pachakuitk voted divided. 33 BAN assembly members spoke against it, while there were 20 abstentions from the PSC and three from Pachakutik.

Diego Ordóñez (BAN), described this resolution as absurd and illegal, because he said that a report that did not have the votes has come back to life, because a spurious and adulterated report was not approved by the plenary, affirmed by what the reconsideration of the vote.

When requesting the vote of the reconsideration, the legislator César Rohón (ex PSC), appealed the presidency of the Assembly because the legislative procedures are not respected. He said that there was a majority motion and there were no votes, and then a minority motion, and he did not have the votes either; Then, what was allowed was the closing of the session, there is no room for presenting more motions, “this is not a circus,” he replied. Parliamentary procedures are well stipulated, he noted.

The president of the legislature, Guadalupe Llori, when defending herself against the appeal, said that there is no express procedure regarding the treatment of minority, therefore, she has not violated the procedure. After the vote on the appeal there were no votes and Llori continued, leading the session.

The vote on the motion of reconsideration raised by legislator Diego Ordóñez was ordered, and it did not pass in plenary session, only 40 affirmative votes were pronounced, and the session was closed. (I)